PhoneBeagle FAQ

How Does It Work

PhoneBeagle has two components, a Recorder that is installed on your child's Android or BlackBerry phone that records activity and location, and a Client for remotely viewing your child's phone activity and location. The Client is available as a secure Web application and an Android phone application.

Why Do People Need It

PhoneBeagle allows a concerned parent to track the location of their child and to supervise their child's use of a mobile/cell phone. Do you want to stop your child visiting inappropriate Websites? Do you want to know if your child is texting while driving? Do you want to protect your child from predators or school bullies? PhoneBeagle tells you if your child is involved in risky behavior or is being targeted by dangerous individuals.

Parents have legal and moral obligations to monitor mobile phones and know how they are being used. PhoneBeagle makes it simple and automatic. It doesn't interfere, but it is there when you need it.

New Versions & Releases

• You have full and free access to new versions of PhoneBeagle while you maintain your subscription or for the period of any fixed term purchase. To upgrade the PhoneBeagle Recorder, open the Android Market using your computer browser and sign in with the Google account of the phone where you installed the PhoneBeagle Recorder. Search for the PhoneBeagle Recorder and select "Install". A few minutes later the PhoneBeagle Recorder will be automatically downloaded and updated, with NO user interaction, even if Uninstall-Protection is enabled.

Transferable License

• When you acquire a new or different phone the PhoneBeagle license can be transferred to the new phone, even between Android and BlackBerry.

Pre-Sales

• Do you offer a free trial?

  • We do not offer a free trial. However, PhoneBeagle is available on a month to month basis for a very reasonable price, and subscriptions can be canceled at anytime.

• Android Market General

  • PhoneBeagle can be downloaded through the Android Market, but the Product Key needs to be purchased through this website.

• Android Market AT&T

  • AT&T users must use the Android Market to install PhoneBeagle. Either search for PhoneBeagle in the Android Market and after installation purchased a Key here or purchase first and use the Android Market installation link in the confirmation email.

General Information

• What brands of phones does PhoneBeagle work with?

  • PhoneBeagle is under constant improvement and upgrades. So far, we have been concentrating on Android and BlackBerry smartphones. Any phone using the Android operating system, OS version 1.5 or newer is compatible with PhoneBeagle. All BlackBerry phones using OS version 5.0 or newer are compatible. Please note that MMS Multi-Media Message, Web History & App Events are not supported at this time on BlackBerry. Many new Android phone models are coming out all the time and it is difficult to keep up with listing them all but please feel confident that PhoneBeagle is compatible with any new phones using Android.

• What is Android?

  • Android is a phone Operating System (OS) developed by Google and used by many phone handset suppliers/manufacturers. In fact it is now the most popular selling OS for smartphones sold in North America. PhoneBeagle works with phones using Android OS 1.5 and newer which means just about every Android device released in the last two years. Reliable and full of features - a good combination.

Installation und Setup

• Installing the PhoneBeagle Recorder App

  • Installation of PhoneBeagle is easy and straightforward. A full User Guide is available here.

Location Tracking

• What happens when GPS not available?

  • PhoneBeagle uses available location information provided to the phone such as Cell Tower location resolution and WiFi location resolution. GPS is preferred, because it tends to be the most accurate, however it is not always available when in vehicles and buildings.

• Modes of Operation

  • Zero Impact Tracking: GPS is used only if it is already active, for instance when the user is navigating with navigation-software or using Internet location services. Cell Tower location resolution is active.

  • High Resolution Tracking: GPS is set active and receives continuous location updates. Network positioning provided by mobile service providers and Cell Tower location resolution are both active.

  • Intelligent Tracking: GPS is used if it is already active. Cell Tower location resolution is active. GPS and the network positioning provided by mobile service providers are activated if the device moves a significant distance.

Security and Privacy

• PhoneBeagle Data Handling

  • All data is stored on the device in an encoded format and uploaded to the server over an encrypted connection. The data is stored encoded in the database. The data is only decoded after it has been downloaded into the customer's browser (only when viewed by the customer). No data is decoded until it arrives on the customer's computer. Encoded means the data is not human readable and cannot be viewed by our system administration engineers. The PhoneBeagle data warehouse is very secure. At all times your data is protected.

Web Application

• Best Internet Browser to Use

  • Downloading phone 'event' data combined with location tracking on the map, can be resource intensive and some internet browsers work better than others. For best results we recommend using Chrome from Google. Of course its free and works faster than other browsers. Google's Chrome Web browser can be download using this link www.google.com/chrome

Glossary

• Application

  • Software, program, etc. PhoneBeagle is a software application installed on your smartphone.

• Broadband

  • Broadband or high-speed Internet access gives users access to the internet and internet-related services. Broadband speeds vary significantly subject to the specific type and level of service ordered and can range from as slow as 200 kilobits per second (kbps), to six megabits per second (Mbps), or even more. Broadband services for residential consumers typically provide faster downstream speeds (from the internet to computer) than upload speeds (from computer to internet).

• 3G/4G Broadband

  • What is 3G/4G broadband? It’s currently the most common method most mobile phones and mobile computers access the internet using a signal from a mobile internet service provider. It is referred to as 3G/4G because it is the ‘third generation’ of mobile technology. Leading\Primary European and American internet service providers have 3G/4G available for mobile users.

• Anti-Spam

  • Used to prevent e-mail spam; which is also called junk e-mail or electronic junk mail. Email spam typically involves sending nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients using e-mail. A common acronym for spam is UBE which stands for unsolicited bulk e-mail. There are various anti-spam techniques. Some of these techniques are embedded in products, services and. Some anti-spam takes place at the network level before ever reaching computers, others are built-in, some need to be added to email clients like Outlook. No one method is going to solve to the spam problem. Each approach has trade-offs between incorrectly rejecting legitimate e-mail versus not rejecting all spam; along with the related costs in time and effort. Anti-spam solutions can be divided into four general categories: those that need actions by individuals, those that can be automated by e-mail administrators, those that are automated by e-mail senders and those utilized by researchers and law enforcement officials.

• Anti-Virus

  • This is software that attempts to guard computers, laptops, and cell phones from malicious internet (including email) transferred malware. Malware is malicious software programs normally designed to be intrusive or damaging. Computer viruses, Trojan horses and worms are common forms of malware. Malware will often damage your computer, notebook or mobile phone and may copy your personal information or just be annoying. There are many of bad people out there causing problems and some kind of anti-virus software application is essential on a broadband-enabled computers, laptops, and or mobile phones. Namebrand anti-virus software applications such as Norton or McAfee are sometimes included by mobile internet service providers and offered for free. Many people rely on free versions of services like Avast and AVG. One way or another – the reality is an anti-virus software application is necessary to protect computers, notebooks, and smartphones.

• Anti-Spyware

  • Spyware is broad category of malicious software that will insert itself on laptops, and smartphones from broadband internet connections. Spyware is designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer or cell phone operation without permission from the device’s owner or legitimate user. Spyware is nasty computer software programs that surreptitiously obtain, monitor and report information from a person’s computer without their knowledge or consent. This can include private data such as details of sites visited, and even e-mail. Spyware does other nasty things like as slow down processes and change programs and settings. Some internet service providers include good quality anti-spyware in broadband packages. Many anti-virus packages include anti-spyware.

• Capping

  • In mobile network terms capping describes a cap, or limitation, on the allowable quantity of data to download on a specific contract. IF the cap is exceeded, additional charges often apply.

• Dongle

  • In mobile broadband terminology dongle is the word that typically is used to to describe the small device that plugs into another internet-enabled device to pick-up a mobile data connection signal. Also sometimes called a ‘stick’, these devices plug easily into a USB port on a notebook or PC and contain a SIM card from a mobile broadband provider, in the same way a mobile phone accesses data and the internet.

• Bandwidth/Download Speed

  • Bandwidth or Download Speed refers to how quickly a file (of data) can be downloaded from a remote source. This mobile network term describes how fast a connection can deliver data to a computer. Anything that moves across the internet to a computer is considered to be ‘downloaded’. This is typically from a website that has the file that you want, or from another user that allows you to download the file directly from them. Similarly, anything going the opposite direction from the computer to the internet is being ‘uploaded’ , such as sending photos to a website. The download speed is measured by how much of the file is transferred to you over a certain amount of time. It used to be most download speeds were measured in kb/s, kilobytes per second, or thousands of (data) bytes per second; however fortunately currently it is more common to measure this connection speed it megabytes or millions of bytes per second.

• Femto-Cells

  • Femtocells use broadband and boost the 3G/4G signal to make smartphones – and devices with a dongle – perform better. A femtocell is a wireless access point that delivers localized 3G/4G broadband coverage. Often it is very small base station that receives data connection supplier or ISP signals and boosts it around a small area, such as your house, office or event center. They are expected to become quite common and will play an integral role in location based services and marketing.

• Firewall

  • A firewall is a software component used to stop unwanted traffic arriving on computers, laptops or handsets over the internet. The firewall will analyze incoming data that connect to the computers, laptops or handsets, and if it doesn’t meet the settings allocated to it, the data transfer will be stopped. A good firewall virus software application is highly recommended to protect computers, laptops, and smartphones with a broadband connection. They are often included with anti-virus software applications as well as some free versions. Malicious data can sometimes get around firewall protection and a firewall alone cannot maintain computer and smartphone safety. Firewall software applications need to work with anti-spyware, anti-virus, and anti-spam software to be most effective.

• Fixed-Line

  • Fixed-line broadband is a term used to describe either cable or ADSL internet connections. The term is primarily used to differentiate fixed-line broadband from mobile broadband which is wireless and uses a mobile broadband signal network.

• Gb/gigabit

  • Giga means one billion. Gb (note the small b) a contraction of gigabit, a unit used to express the speed at which data travels across an internet connection (also sometimes written as Gbps, or gigabits per second). Current broadband connections are measured in Mb (megabits per second) – there are 1024Mb in 1Gb.

• GB/Gbps/Gigabyte

  • GB is short for gigabyte, which is often used to express the size of computer files and memory storage capacity. There are 1024 bytes in a kilobyte (KB), 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte (MB), and 1024 megabytes in a gigabyte. To give a better idea of usage, a small Notepad file is typically measured in bytes, a basic Word document in kilobytes, a music file in megabytes and a DVD movie in gigabytes.

• Kb/Kilobit

  • Kb is an abbreviation kilobit, which is a term used to express the speed at which data travels across an internet connection also written as Kbps, or kilobits per second. It was commonly used to measure dial-up internet speeds and still crops up with slower mobile broadband connections.

• KB/Kbps/Kilobyte

  • KB is short for kilobyte, which is a term used to describe the size of computer files and storage capacity.

• Mb/Mbps/Megabit

  • Mb is short for Megabit, and also written as Mbps, which stands for megabits per second. Mb commonly is used to describe the measurement of internet speeds. A Mb is 1024Kb, while there are 1024Mb in a Gb. MB (or megabyte): MB is short for for megabyte, which is a term used to describe the size of computer files and storage capacity.

• HSPA, HSDPA, HSUPA

  • HSPA is an acronym for ‘high speed packet access’. HSDPA is an acronym for ‘high speed download packet access’ and HSUPA is an acronym ‘high speed upload’ packet access’, each describes the same technology either sending or receiving data. It is the latest advancement in quality for mobile broadband usage, working on various 3G/4G mobile data connection networks to improve the speed of data transfer.

• HSPA Evolved, HSPA+

  • The next generation of HSPA is Evolved HSPA (or HSPA+) with potential mobile broadband speeds up to 42Mb.

• ISP

  • ISP stands for internet service provider.

• LTE

  • LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, and is one of the next generation of mobile broadband technologies. It is supposed to be capable of data transfer rates 15 to 100 times faster than current 3G/4G mobile networks.

• Mi-Fi/MiFi

  • Is a wireless router that, like a dongle, receives a mobile broadband signal. However, unlike a dongle (which plugs directly into a laptop or other internet enabled device), the Mi-Fi device distributes the signal wirelessly via Wi-Fi.

• Upload Speed

  • This term describes how fast a broadband connection can send data from computers or smartphones. Anything that goes across the internet from a computer, notebook, or mobile phone is considered to be 'uploaded'.

• Usage Allowance

  • This term describes how much data allowed to transmit through a mobile broadband connection. Typically it is either a fixed monthly quota, or a pay as you go. Using more data than contracted can result in additional fees.

• Wi-Fi/WiFi

  • Pronounced 'why-fye', Wi-Fi is short for Wireless Fidelity. It is a trademarked term of the Wi-Fi Alliance certified as working in tandem with other products that belong to a class of wireless local area network (WLAN) devices based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. But, commonly it is taken by most to mean any electronics that work wirelessly over a Wi-Fi network, technically but seldom labelled a WLAN. In mobile internet connection terms, the most common usage is when referring to Wi-Fi hotspots: places such as hotels, airports and cafes that provide internet connectivity either free or for a charge. Because of the close relationship with its underlying standard, the abbreviation of Wi-Fi is often used as a synonym for IEEE 802.11 technology.

• WiMAX

  • This expression is short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access - a new broadband technology that has potential to offer a wireless broadband alternative without the need for cables. Like LTE, WiMAX is being promoted as the next generation of mobile broadband.

• WLAN

  • WLAN is short for for wireless local area network, and is more typically called Wi-Fi.